A vigil is held to remember late Indianapolis Colts player Edwin Jackson and Uber driver Jeffrey Monroe, at Guion Creek Middke School in Indianapolis, Feb. 15, 2018. Jackson and Monroe were killed by a suspected drunk driver on Feb. 4, 2018.
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Manuel Orrego-Savala, charged with two counts of failure to remain at the scene of an accident, a Level 3 felony, and two counts tied to drunken driving death, a Level 4 felony, walks out of the courtroom at the City-County Building on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Wearing orange jail garb, he appeared in Marion Superior Court on Wednesday morning for an initial hearing.(Photo11: Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar)Buy Photo

A Guatemalan man will be sentenced Friday for the drunken driving deaths of an Indianapolis Colts player and his Uber driver.

In a letter to the judge, 37-year-old Manuel Orrego-Savala asked for forgiveness and said he struggles with alcohol.

"I do have a drinking problem," Orrego-Savala wrote in an Aug. 19 letter. "I can't believe I've done this to another person. Please God forgive me ... Please I was not trying to kill or hurt anyone. I ask the family — the courts — and God to all please forgive me."

But friends and family of one of the victims, 54-year-old Jeffrey Monroe, described the pain experienced by Monroe's widow and said Orrego-Savala should face a tough sentence.

"This man chose to get behind the wheel of the car drunk and whatever risk came with it," wrote Roger Duety, a nephew. "This choice has altered our family forever as well as Mr. Jackson's family."

Orrego-Savala was arrested in February after police said he crashed a Ford F-150 pickup truck into a vehicle stopped on the shoulder of I-70, killing Monroe, who was driving for Uber, and 26-year-old Edwin Jackson, a Colts linebacker. Orrego-Savala was found to have a blood-alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit.

"I'm hear (sic) in the US trying to make money to send back to my family in Guatemala," Orrego-Savala wrote in his letter. "It's a really pore (sic) country. And I got mix (sic) up with drinking thinking about my family miles from home."

Orrego-Savala pleaded guilty in July to two Level 4 felony counts tied to drunken driving causing death. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped two counts of failure to remain at the scene of an accident, both Level 3 felonies.

Orrego-Savala is believed to have entered the country illegally around July 1, 2004, according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman. He was then convicted of driving under the influence in Redwood City, California, in 2005.

In October 2006, he was arrested by agents in San Francisco and deported in January 2007, according to a federal criminal complaint. A little more than two years later, in March 2009, he was again arrested in San Francisco and deported that May.

Last year, Orrego-Savala was convicted in Boone County for driving without a license. But he was arrested and charged under the name Alex Cabrera-Gonsales, an alias that he has used in the past, according to local and federal authorities.

"While we mourn the loss of an amazing young man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that his life serves as an example to young people around the world that, with a plan and hard work, dreams can come true," they said.

Loved ones remembered Monroe for his commitment to his family and friends, and for his love of the Colts and traveling. Driving for Uber was a way to earn extra cash to pay for traveling, friends said.

Jeff Monroe was the Uber driver killed in the crash caused by a drunk driver that also claimed the life of Colts player Edwin Jackson.(Photo11: Provided by Carol Sue Warrix Lambert)

Those memories were echoed in the 10 letters that the judge received ahead of Orrego-Savala's sentencing.

Monroe turned a dining room into a temporary bedroom for a nephew going through a tough spell. One of his wife's colleagues remembered how much Monroe supported his wife's business. And a friend talked about the love shared between Monroe and his wife.

"I can attest (they) were the light of each other's lives and had a marriage many dreamed of," wrote Ann Garringer. "Moreover, Jeff stepped up when his nephew needed a father figure, taking him in his own home and raising him as his own. His coworkers called him a stellar employee and friend."

Now the pain of losing Monroe will continue hurting his widow, wrote a sibling.

"She is selling her house and moving away because it hurts her too much to stay," wrote Terry Page Brown. "She never smiles anymore and I don't know if she will ever be happy again."

Marion Superior Judge Grant Hawkins is set to deliver Orrego-Savala's sentence at 1:30 p.m. The sentences could range from 10 to 16 years, according to the plea agreement.

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Indianapolis Colts inside linebacker Edwin Jackson (53) runs off the field after the Colts' 31-26 win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016. Matt_Kryger/Indy_Star

Indianapolis Colts inside linebacker Edwin Jackson (53) celebrates after a third down stop against the Houston Texans during the second half at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016. Mykal_McEldowney/Indy_Star

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Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson (53) celebrates a tackle on on Tennessee Titans running back DeMarco Murray (29) in the first half of their game Sunday, October 23, 2016, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville TN. Mykal_McEldowney/Indy_Star

Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson (53) during the national anthem prior to the Colts facing off in their final preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati on Thursday, September 1, 2016 Matt Kryger/IndyStar